1/28/2011

Meyer Lemon Pudding

After the recipe writing and eating of leftovers from our Sunday Dinner this week, I was craving something light and lemony to cut the richness. Time to take advantage of those winter citrus fruits.

I love all things lemon and this recipe is one of my favorites. In fact, Lori Longbothom calls this "My Favorite Lemon Pudding"--that makes two of us and I am sure you will be number three, four, five...

Lori's recipe calls for just lemons, and as good as that is, I like to take it to the next level and use Meyer lemons. Meyer lemons are not quite as tart as lemons and are a sort of cross between a lemon and an orange, therefore they are a tad sweeter than a standard lemon with a noticeable floral essence. If you can't find Meyer lemons, you can get good results if you use half lemon juice and half orange juice--freshly squeezed of course.

By using simple ingredients and a simple technique, you will be rewarded with a spoonful of luscious, lemony love. A dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream doesn't hurt either.Printable Recipe

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the milk, egg yolks, zest, and salt and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently at first and constantly toward the end, until thickened.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the citrus juice and butter. Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl and pour the mixture through the strainer. Divide the mixture into 6 serving dishes and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate, loosely covered (tightly covered will trap too much moisture, making a watery pudding) for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Serve chilled by itself or with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

38 comments:

This looks like a nice change from chocolate pudding. I bet this would be good for using in trifles or even pies. I have a linky party on my blog right now called "Sweets for a Saturday" and I'd like to invite you to stop by and link this recipe up.

Hi Nicole - I made this lemon pudding over the weekend. Needed to make a birthday dessert for myself (nobody else was going to bake me a cake!) and since lemon is one of my faves, and I've been trying to eat gluten free, i thought of your post from a couple weeks back. The pudding was delicious! I had large eggs (not xtra) so I threw in an extra yolk. At first I was worried b/c right after cooking it tasted too eggy and I was regretting adding the extra yolk. However once it cooled it was fine. Just a very pleasant smooth lemon flavor. I put the pudding in a crust made from crushed (gluten-free) gingersnaps and used a removable tart pan. It was beautiful and yummy. Thanks for the inspiration and excellent recipe!

Andrea, as a celiac sufferer, I think you with all my taste buds! ;) I love all things lemon and ginger and I can't wait to try your fabulous pie variation. And thanks for the original pudding recipe, Nicole! :)

I had a few Meyer lemons in the fridge, saw this recipe on Pinterest a couple of days ago and made a mental note to make it. And then yesterday, out of nowhere, my 3 year old asked for lemon pudding. So I made it - while juggling said 3 year old and a pork tenderloin - and it was WONDERFUL! And EASY! Thank you!

I discovered Meyer lemons on a trip west this winter. I was thrilled to find this recipe explains how to substitute lemons and oranges for the Meyer lemons. I just tried the recipe and it is DELICIOUS!!!! thank you for posting it.

Amazing!!! My preggo cravings had me wanting lemon pudding so bad and this recipe went above and beyond what I was looking for! I'm going to use the same base and try for different citrus fruits today!! I have limes( key lime spin) and oranges( orange creamsicle) yummmm!!! I'm sure grapefruit would be amazing too!!!!!!

I recently had this type of dessert at a "Chopped Champion's restaurant" I wanted to recreate it as the Christmas dessert at home. While searching the world wide web I found your link and your recipe turned out to be a perfect match - all our dinner guest loved it.

Hi There- I just made this and it's good. I'm wondering though how you got that beautiful yellow color? Also, might vanilla go well with this? If so, could you just add it at the end with the citrus/butter?